Public health officials in Trinidad and Tobago are moving to resolve ongoing supply gaps for chronic disease and cancer medications distributed through the country’s Chronic Disease Assistance Programme (CDAP), Health Minister Dr Lackram Bodoe has confirmed. In a recent statement responding to mounting public concerns, the minister stressed that the vast majority of prescription drugs covered under the public health programme remain fully accessible to patients who rely on the scheme for ongoing care.
Over the past several weeks, patients and their family members have renewed public outcry over repeated stockouts at public health facilities and registered CDAP dispensing pharmacies, with critical drugs for chronic conditions and cancer treatment among those affected by unavailability. These complaints have reignited broader questions about the stability of the nation’s pharmaceutical supply chain and the speed at which depleted stocks of life-saving medications are replenished.
Speaking to local outlet *Express* in response to media queries, Bodoe reaffirmed that ensuring a steady, adequate supply of necessary medications is one of the current government’s top public health priorities. “I have taken note of some complaints in the public domain regarding shortages of medication,” Bodoe shared via phone.
The minister added that systemic challenges around procurement and supply chain management were already in place when he assumed leadership of the Ministry of Health, but that incremental, consistent progress is being made to shore up processes. This includes enhanced oversight of existing contractual agreements with the National Procurement and Disposal End User Corporation (Nipdec), the public body responsible for pharmaceutical procurement in the country. Bodoe also noted that regional health authorities have been granted autonomy to resolve immediate shortages through emergency, ad hoc purchasing arrangements. “Steps are being taken to address those medicines identified as short in supply,” he said.
Issues with pharmaceutical availability and procurement are not new for Trinidad and Tobago’s public health system, with recurring disruptions stretching back years. During a 2024 parliamentary enquiry by the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee into the sufficiency of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical supplies, lawmakers learned that of the 526 operating pharmacies across the country, only 231 held official authorization to dispense CDAP medications. At that time, an additional 46 pharmacies were in the process of completing CDAP registration, and the hearing also raised multiple red flags around drug supply and inventory management.
Prior to taking on the role of Health Minister, Bodoe — then an opposition member of the parliamentary committee — highlighted complaints from pharmacy owners that many CDAP-supplied drugs arrived with only a short window remaining before expiration. Nipdec officials responded at the time that the official standard required a minimum of 18 months of shelf life for all delivered medications.
Shortly after assuming the health portfolio in July 2025, Bodoe announced that a full systemic review of CDAP had been finalized, with proposed reform plans currently under consideration by the Cabinet. Key proposed changes include expanding the programme’s coverage to include more medications and lowering cost burdens for participating pharmacies that dispense CDAP drugs to patients.
Public concern around procurement inefficiencies and pharmaceutical waste has grown in recent months. In December 2025, Bodoe disclosed that roughly $80 million worth of medications had expired before they could be used over a 10-year period. The revelation prompted Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to order Nipdec to produce a full public report on pharmaceutical storage protocols nationwide. The government has also signaled it plans to open up the market by increasing the number of licensed pharmaceutical importers and suppliers, a move intended to boost market competition and drive down prescription drug costs for public health programmes and patients.